


Going Back Without You

by rosequartzstars



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Feelings, Life After Hogwarts, Oneshot, Post-Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Post-Hogwarts, Teenagers, rff 2020, romione, romione fic fest 2020, romione oneshot, ron and hermione talk about their feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-11
Updated: 2020-07-11
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:34:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25194007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rosequartzstars/pseuds/rosequartzstars
Summary: After the Battle of Hogwarts, Ron and Hermione decided to go their separate ways, thinking it would be for the best. However, a few days before Hermione is bound to go back for her eighth year, Ron begins to think that may not have been the best idea. (Romione oneshot)
Relationships: Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley
Comments: 1
Kudos: 19





	Going Back Without You

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written for the Romione Ficlet Fest 2020 on Tumblr, for the prompt "Ron's bedroom". :)
> 
> You can find the original here: https://romioneficfest.tumblr.com/post/618551746943500288/going-back-without-you

"How come we're not playing Wizard's chess?"

It was a warm day at July's denouement, and the Burrow was silent: Molly's usual clanking in the kitchen had subsided an hour or so after breakfast, and the stupor of a long summer had settled over the house. Hermione had arrived at the Burrow a few days ago, after parting ways with her parents at St. Mungo's: it hadn't been easy to bring them back from Australia when they didn't even recognize her, and she didn't trust herself to undo her own memory charm. Now, she sat in Ron's cramped bedroom, as they had every day while they waited for Harry to arrive, paging through a book of runes, tuning out Ron and Ginny's bickering over their game of Gobstones.

"Because it wouldn't be fair," Ginny replied, giving her Gobstone a light nudge. "And if you win, you get cocky. You're easier to put up with when you've been knocked down a rung."

"Oh, how touching," said Ron, responding with a light push of his own Gobstone as well. "My dear little sister, basically telling me I'm a prat—"

_Crack!_

"It's Harry," said Ginny, her face lighting up at the familiar sound of a successful Apparition. She shot Ron a murderous glance: "We'll continue this later. And don't you _dare_ move my Gobstones to get me, I've charmed them to spray you if you so much as try." She held the dangerous glance for a second, before her face regained the same glow it had taken on with Harry's arrival, and thundered down the stairs to be the first to meet him.

"Well, we'd better get going too," said Hermione, clapping her book closed and setting it aside as she got off the bed. "We haven't seen him in, what is it now, a month?" she continued as she headed toward the door. "Oh, and I bet he has the most wonderful stories about Teddy, it was so nice of him to go help Andromeda out—"

She was cut off just as her hand reached the doorknob: Ron had leaped between her and the doorframe. Reading the determination on his face, Hermione knew there was only one thing this could possibly be about: "Ron, I thought we'd agreed—"

"Yes, I know— but it's been what, a month?" he said, echoing her words, spreading his arms wider over the door to make it clear she wasn't going to get out.

She sighed and let go of the doorknob; Ron dropped his arms a little. They scrutinized each other for an instant, each refusing to be the one to break the silence. Finally, it was Ron who did: "You've been avoiding me. Being alone with me, I mean."

"Yes, see, this is exactly what I feared," huffed Hermione, turning away slightly.

"What is it? We said it wasn't going to change our friendship," pleaded Ron, whose heart had sunk when she'd given her back to him. "We said things would be the same."

"Well, it's not like we could expect them to," said Hermione, chuckling humorlessly. "We went through a war, lived off the map for months, were face to face with the darkest magic imaginable— and you expected things to stay the same?"

"Actually, no, I didn't," said Ron coldly, angered at how she seemed to be brushing him off. "I would've been perfectly content with things changing. It's you who insisted we didn't stay together."

Hermione stiffened: very slowly, she turned back around to face him. The look in her eyes was pained now: "I had to, Ron. Our lives are going to become quite different—"

"This is about me and Harry not going back to school again, isn't it?" said Ron through a grimace. "Hermione, I don't know how you can expect us to just go back like we didn't do more than it would've ever taught us, eh? What are we supposed to do now, go back to school and sit nicely and do all of our homework and call teachers 'professor' like they didn't just fight a war with us?"

"Doing all of your homework wouldn't be _the same old_ for you," muttered Hermione before raising her head to look him straight in the eye. "In part, yes, I think your decision is very irresponsible—" Ron rolled his eyes, and, irked by it, she finished in an angry hurry: "—but it's mostly just that it won't be the same without you!"

Now it was Ron's turn to freeze: slowly, he dropped his arms back by his side. Hermione took his stunned silence as an indication to continue: "It's been seven years we've been inseparable, and to think of going back there without you two is almost unbearable, so yes, Ronald, _of course_ I'm mad at you for not returning!"

"You'd miss me?" articulated Ron slowly, his eyes now glinting not with fury, but with something close to longing.

Hermione gave a dry laugh, and he noticed her eyes were teary too: "Of course I'd miss you, idiot. I'd miss you most of all."

"Me? Over Harry?"

"Is it that you're thick? Or why is it not getting through to you that —yes, of course, I'd miss Harry—, but I can't imagine going back without _you_?" Ron remained silent, as if something was still barring him from fully understanding. Hermione sighed. "Then maybe something else should do the trick."

She leaned in, allowing her lips to linger over his for a brief moment before she pressed them together— like she'd done all those months ago, except this time, there was no clatter of basilisk fangs hitting the floor, and there was no fiery, spur-of-the-moment passion guiding the kiss: this time, it was soft and tender, and it said all the words she'd held back from him since she'd broken her own heart deciding it was best to stay away. Ron kissed back with the same tenderness, closing his eyes and bringing his hands around her waist, allowing himself to get lost in the kiss he'd spent weeks yearning for, from the girl he'd wanted for years.

They pulled away, their gazes locked, and swayed slightly by the door, neither daring to break the moment for fear of what could come next. Then, in customary fashion, Ron cracked a lopsided grin: "Y'know, I may just have to go back now, make sure that you don't have any reasons to go chasing after anyone else."

She smiled brightly back at him: "Oh, Ronald, you know I could never," she said, and twisted the doorknob as they left the room to go downstairs and greet Harry, Ron's hand still firmly —and faithfully— settled upon her waist.


End file.
